The stuff quoted about accreditation costs etc is totally innacurate.
> The original tender was based on using their own loco crews. It wasn't
> cost that stopped them. They put several through the course and they all
> easily passed the theory (all being ex-V/Line who took "the package") but
> they were never allowed to complete it.
8 drivers passed through the training centre - the only thing they
didn't do was learn the road. However, the PTU stepped in and insisted
that WCR could not use it's own crews (a surprising move, given that at
the same time, NRC were crewing their own trains in the state of
Victoria....), hence the agreement where WCR pay the PTC to provide
crews.
If V/Line Freight no longer wish to make crews available, we could go
back to our original idea of having our own, or V/Line Passenger may
make crews available (if they get enough of their own), or there's even
the option of NRC crews, so I wouldn't think crewing is going to be a
problem.
Regards,
Craig.
-- Craig Haber albatross@harnessnet.com.au Manufacturing Systems Engineer (almost) Web Page Designer, Harness Racing, Railways, and Essendon Football Club fanatic http://www.harnessnet.com.au/